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‘Risked his career for ₹1500’: Senior techie put on notice period, blacklisted for stealing junior’s helmet
The bizarre case of corporate misconduct has prompted a series of responses from social media users.
Can a ₹1500 helmet disrupt someone’s career? For one senior employee, the answer appears to be yes. An IT professional recently narrated how their daily commute took a bizarre turn when their helmet was stolen from the office basement and replaced with a dented one. After being shuffled between different departments, the employee finally found that a senior colleague was responsible.
The junior techie, who shared the story on Reddit, claimed that the senior professional was subsequently blacklisted and put on notice period by the company.
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“Like any normal day, I parked my vehicle around 11:30 AM and left my helmet on the mirror (I know… mistake #1 — I never used a lock because nothing had ever happened before). When I came back around 6 PM, my helmet was gone. But here’s the weird part — someone had placed another helmet in its spot. Except this one was badly damaged, had a huge dent, and the visor was completely broken,” the Redditor recalled.
Realising this was a deliberate swap rather than a random act, the employee immediately sought help. For almost one week, the individual kept going in circles with emails and follow-ups with different departments.
“Finally, one day I learned that incidents related to parking and vehicles are handled by the transport team, not HR. So I contacted them immediately. Turns out, the transport team manages shuttle and cab services for multiple projects, and many of those vehicles run 24×7 dashcams inside the campus area.”
The employee immediately reported the matter to the transport department, and within a week, he received a call about his helmet.
“I found out the person who took my helmet was an employee — someone much senior to me in age, probably around 35–40. He had been working… for about 4 years and had experience across multiple companies.”
The employee continued, “The outcome? He was placed on notice period and reportedly blacklisted. And before anyone asks — no, my helmet wasn’t some premium racing gear. It cost around ₹1500.”
(HT.com has reached out to the tech company, this report will be updated once they respond)
How did social media react?
An individual commented, "Doesn't matter if it's a premium one or not, things can have personal emotions attached, and even if not, people can't just take them like that, that's STEALING.” Another expressed, “Don't understand what the thrill is in stealing someone else's helmet. Firstly, it's relatively affordable to replace your own. Secondly, why risk the reputation you built for a petty crime? Third, that helmet has been on someone else's head, carrying their sweat, smell and anything their head might hold, who in their right mind wants to actually use it. I feel the ick using the Rapido helmets, so I carry my own for the rides.”
A third expressed, “That's really unfortunate that even after so much education and a high-profile job, people stoop to do such kinds of things.” A fourth Redditor wrote, “I am not able to wrap my head around it. Pun intended. A colleague stole the helmet. He can't wear it to the office as you will recognise it. So what was he planning to do with the stolen helmet?”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
